Otocinclus dying?

[FrancisFloe]

Have you tested your water?

No

If I did not test my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be asked to do a test, and that water tests are critical for solving freshwater health problems.

Do you do water changes?

Yes

What percentage of water do you change?

21-30%

How frequently do you change your water?

Every two weeks

If I do not change my water...

1. ...I recognize that I will likely be recommended to do a water change, and water changes are critical for preventing future freshwater health problems.

Hey hey y'all, I originally had 6 otocinclus, the first two I bought I believe is a different species, then there was 4 of another species
Two species side by side, hadn't identified them, lets call the 2 species A and the 4, species B

Already had my tank cycled for 1yr, theres a bunch of drift wood covered with hair algae
I originally got two and later got four more, then 1 of species B died around 2 weeks later which I guess is normal for otocinclus, then 1 of species A died eventhough I had it for like 2 months and it was eating well, tho before it died I noticed its belly shrunk eventhough they usually are round, I feed them hikari algea wafer, sinking pelltes, cucumber and some fruits, and algae growing in tank, anyways today another otocinclus died and Im getting worried I thought they had started to settle in, last night I took a pic of it before it died and it had a really round stomach this time and I thought it was gravid due to sometimes occasionally seeing them breed from time to time cus they will lock onto eachother.
Moving on, I am left with 3 oto's from the 6 I used to have, 1 from sp. A and 2 from sp. B.
To summarize, the very first death occured only a week or two after getting the oto which seems normal, the 2nd death oto had sunken stomach despite available food, and last death, oto had a huge stomach this time. Right now the rest of my otos seem fine and healthy, they still eat. but idk..is there a way to prevent them from dying, btw I have like a few small tetras like embers, rummynose, blackneon, they dont harass the otos and I never seen my oto with nipped fins, they all died with no nips or anything.
My current otocinclus left:

 

[kno4te]

Hard to say. Is your water parameters good? You quarantine the fish?

 

[FrancisFloe]

Is your water parameters good?

Water parameter is stable most of the time

You quarantine the fish?

nope, I didn't have any available established tanks

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I have tried to keep these fish before. My tanks were well established and had plenty of algae growing. The fish did well for a while. I eventually stopped buying them figuring my local water parameters, the type of algae or some other inherent part of my local setup would not support them.
Perhaps someone on here has cracked the code and kept them long term.

 

[FJB]

As suggested, hard to say what is going on resulting in deaths. Stating that parameters are 'stable' does not give information which may be relevant, and does not state just what are the parameters numbers. That may or not help ascertain the issue.
I would say 3 things:
- Your photos are quite good.
- It does appear as if you have two oto species.
- In the first photo, the upper specimen [with its tail seen against the background of the brown Sturisoma?], seems to have the lower lobe of the caudal fin and part of the center, missing. Somebody took a good bite at its tail. Whether that may have something to do with the deaths you are experiencing, I don't know.

"Perhaps someone on here has cracked the code and kept them long term."
I don't think I have cracked any code. However, I do have small groups of otos in most of my tanks, and they have been there for some years (2-3). I think this is typical of their captive lifespan. In my experience, new acquisitions of otos suffer deaths shortly after arriving (1st days or weeks), but the survivors do quite well in my tanks. I don't do or feed them anything special, just what the tank gets for food (always a varied diet based on a rotation of items) and the algae present. Initial deaths I peg to the horrendous conditions of their catching, shipping, and then keeping at stores.

 

[skjl47]

In my experience, new acquisitions of otos suffer deaths shortly after arriving (1st days or weeks), but the survivors do quite well in my tanks. I

Hello; Not my experience. I do not lose individuals quickly. I would lose them slowly over months. Do not think i ever had one survive six months. This in tanks in which other small breeds last for years.

Hello; You do have something suited to the fish.

 

[wednesday13]

Cant offer much advice on these guys but i do have 2 that are 4-5yrs old now. I also started with around 6. Ive tried to add more to the group several times and the original 2 are still with me. I can only guess that once a pair is established maybe they kill the others. Mine are in a planted 37gal. They came out of a 5 gal. I thought more gallons would keep more alive and thats not the case. Sounds like ur seeing the same thing i did.

 

[FrancisFloe]

sorry I have no idea about the parameters because I don't have a test kit right now, all I know is temp ranges from 28-30°c. I only top off water like 2-3 times a month about 30-40% because it has no lid and is situated outside so quite a lot of evaporation. Sometimes the rain tops it off but if none then I use water from a well that is filtered, im guessing well water is hardy, I dechlorinate it first before adding. I have a bunch of botanicals in the tank so maybe it makes it less hardy?

- In the first photo, the upper specimen [with its tail seen against the background of the brown Sturisoma?], seems to have the lower lobe of the caudal fin and part of the center, missing. Somebody took a good bite at its tail.

As for the nipped fin, I snapped the photo right when it moved its tail. Here's a pic while it was still.

 

[FrancisFloe]

Cant offer much advice on these guys but i do have 2 that are 4-5yrs old now. I also started with around 6. Ive tried to add more to the group several times and the original 2 are still with me. I can only guess that once a pair is established maybe they kill the others. Mine are in a planted 37gal. They came out of a 5 gal. I thought more gallons would keep more alive and thats not the case. Sounds like ur seeing the same thing i did.

That's interesting! I thought the more the better as I searched in google they should be kept in atleast 6 and I notice they do school sometimes and it was really cool. Then some sites say they could be territorial for food, and I did see that with them sometimes chasing each other off. My tank is 55g so maybe thats plenty enough space but I guess not, they could be competing for biofilm, I always put algae wafers and they eat alot tho, I will replace the ones that died but if they keep dying then maybe I'll stick with the rest.

 

[wednesday13]

That's interesting! I thought the more the better as I searched in google they should be kept in atleast 6 and I notice they do school sometimes and it was really cool. Then some sites say they could be territorial for food, and I did see that with them sometimes chasing each other off. My tank is 55g so maybe thats plenty enough space but I guess not, they could be competing for biofilm, I always put algae wafers and they eat alot tho, I will replace the ones that died but if they keep dying then maybe I'll stick with the rest.

Seems stupid to think such tiny fish can still be killers… def. My personal experience tho lol. I gave up trying to add more. Recently added a pair of albino corydoras that do an excellent job of clean up crew even more so than the otos.